Have you ever tasted something gross? A strange foreign food? Your mom’s cooking? A friend’s concoction that tasted like a science experiment gone horribly wrong? Maybe this gross food made you shriek, “EWW! Yuck! That’s the GROSSEST pancake I’ve ever tasted!” and that was after YOU cooked the food!
But when was the last time you reacted the same way to someone manipulating the Word of God? Have you ever been grossed out by someone twisting the Bible to match their own personal agenda? Have you ever felt sick inside after a pastor or friend was ashamed of the Gospel? Instead of being directed by God and His Word, the people of this world often choose to rip God’s words out of context in books, movies, and TV shows. Whenever we try to magically make hell disappear by refusing to talk about it, we turn the Bible into something gross. When we pretend like pre-marital sex is acceptable, we’ve invented our own Bible. When we think that God condones homosexuality or racism, then we’ve begun to obey a Bible that isn’t the Word of God at all!
I love how CIU doesn’t do this. They don’t turn the Bible into a gross thing, because they believe in the “Authority of Scripture.” They know that the Bible has been inspired by God. They remember that the Bible mandates how we should live, think, and talk. CIU’s professors, faculty, and students aren’t ashamed of its message. They treat the Bible with respect and integrity. The students of CIU learn how to interpret and live out the Bible through Bible classes like Hermeneutics, Romans, Psalms, etc. CIU students will stake their lives on the truth of the Gospel. The people of CIU won’t turn the Bible into something gross by elevating their agendas above the teachings of God. At CIU, we value eating the scrumptious words of the Bible. The Bible is our spiritual food and we won’t turn it into something nasty by manipulating it.
-Aaron Sobey